# Why is "Rye" a standard label for decanter sets when it's not a common term in a bar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726 "2006-01-26T18:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/21 "2006-01-27T16:06:23Z")
I like rye. Was in the mood for some last night, in fact, possibly as a result of reading this thread. I dusted off an old drink recipe from the '30’s, when folks were drinking more rye. It was a concoction called an Oriental Cocktail. I have no idea if it was ever popular, but it tasted great. Jigger of rye, 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth, 3/4 oz. Cointreau, 1/2 oz. lime juice. Shake with crushed ice, strain into cocktail class with a cherry. Went down easy, and hit like a sledgehammer. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/22 "2006-01-27T16:20:50Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > Cheesborger! > > Rye is a type of whisky made from rye. It’s probably the most popular whisky in Canada. I’ll second that. My favourite tipple is Gibson’s Finest, though I once drank some Gooderham & Worts, and it was divine. ---
**Author:** ![Ty\_Cobb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ty\_Cobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ty_Cobb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/23 "2006-01-27T16:50:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s a good Chicago Tribune article](http://www.lewbryson.com/tribrye.htm) on Rye from 1999. That is so informative. I guess I was too influenced by the Bogey movies they mentioned. I thought I was being a regular guy ordering a rye and here I was being out-of-date. I’ve bought Old Overholt a few times, just based on low price, and like it. Actually, I bought it first to fill one of those decanter sets mentioned in the OP. It’s funny, the liquor people are trying their darndest to create new drinks every year and here’s one they’ve let fall into disuse. Guess they need different flavors. If Rock And Rye can come pre-mixed, why not Kiwi And Rye for today’s host to bring out at party time 😉 ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/24 "2006-01-27T17:04:20Z")
> [@Ty Cobb](#): > > …why not Kiwi And Rye for today’s host to bring out at party time 😉 Nah, Red Bull 'n’Rye. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/25 "2006-01-27T17:56:38Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > I rather like it, and my first reaction to it was very positive. (Dammit, why did the hamsters have to make me retype this? Now it’s before ten in the morning and I want a drink!) I can see. however, how rye could have been hurt by being an “in-between” choice. Bourbon and the other popular whisk(e)y, scotch, occupy opposite ends of the flavor spectrum. Bourbon is sweet and approachable (as hard liquors go), which is likely to appeal to most mainstream palates. Scotch is smokey and occasionally harsh, and captures the dark-roast coffee and bitter chocolate segment of the population. Rye is somewhere in between, with neither bourbon’s caramely sweetness nor scotch’s smokiness. It may be in some respects the best of both worlds, but it lacks an obvious market segment. I meant to comment on the vodka and gin aspect of this, too, as even taking the popularity of those drinks into account doesn’t explain rye’s rapid disappearance from the whiskey world. As I stated, rye used to be far more popular than bourbon. It’s an interesting interpretatin you have there about it being an “in-between” whiskey, but I’m not sure I wholly agree, especially since there’s plenty of scotch out there that is not overtly smokey (at least not to me…take, for example, The Glenlivet 12), and the younger ones tend not to have the earthy peatiness of the older ones. I find rye to have a character completely its own-but I’m unsure how exactly to describe it. It’s drier and perhaps “grainier” or “huskier” than bourbon. It is a lovely drink and it’s a shame it hasn’t become more popular. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726/26 "2006-01-27T19:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > It is a lovely drink and it’s a shame it hasn’t become more popular. Nah, if it became popular, it wouldn’t be **cool** anymore! 🆒 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rye-a-standard-label-for-decanter-sets-when-its-not-a-common-term-in-a-bar/341726.md?page=1)